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Info Absolution (Summary - List of stories) . The Bitter Sparrow << previous act | Act 2 of 4 | next act >> Divided We Fall << previous chapter | Chapter 15 of 39 '''| next chapter >> << previous scene | '''Scene 1 of 3 | next scene >> Summary * Location: *Participants: *Time: *Summary: Text A week passed, during which Antares hesitantly suggested doing group training exercises to Celestia, who agreed to the idea after some consideration. And Antares found himself more than a little horrified when Allonym's prediction proved right: their first training session was against simple wooden dummies, and the wooden dummies thoroughly trounced the young ponies despite the fact all they were supposed to do was smash them while Celestia timed how long it took. Antares had shouted orders... and then promptly gotten his attention wrapped up in fighting and forgotten to give further directions. Avalon had disobeyed his directions to go for a closer target, and ended up being shot by Rustproof: thankfully, he was using rubber bullets, but Avalon had immediately dropped what she was doing in favor of tackling him. Meadowlark had simply sat in the background, not knowing what to do, while Prestige kept looking at Antares for approval she wasn't getting, and Aphrodisia tackled Avalon before Antares realized what the others were doing. Allonym was right: they had trained so hard as individuals, they couldn't function as a group. Furthermore, when Antares had trained side-by-side with Aphrodisia and sometimes Avalon, he always let the other pony lead and used his perceptions to follow them in rhythm... and in spite of the fact they all looked up to him off the field, on the field, Avalon thought combat was like any other sports competition, where she was the most valuable player and essentially did her own thing no matter how often she was yelled at. Antares was their leader everywhere except where it counted, crunching in his self-confidence and making him feel like the fall guy: it affected his ability to give orders and made him meeker than usual, refusing to add anything to conversations unless poked and prodded for his opinion. There were a lot of arguments during the week, as they failed out of training exercise after training exercise: Celestia often had to stop them during target practice when they turned on each other or started slowing down while Antares mumbled directions and they just stood awkwardly around. Even when Celestia tried to get them to work together by putting them in a simple game of rugby against a few Royal Guards, their dynamics fell quickly apart: Aphrodisia and Avalon were overaggressive, Antares didn't lead so much as react, and Prestige and Meadowlark both stayed far back afield, doing very little while the Royal Guards bruised and battered their way through the others. Celestia's legendary patience finally came to an end when she arrived at the large, open square in Subterra they used for their exercises and found Meadowlark crying in a corner while Avalon berated her. Prestige was half-clinging to Antares, almost holding him back as he shouted weakly at Avalon, and Aphrodisia was only grumbling and lingering around the side of the area, acting completely disinterested in the others. Rustproof, lastly, was smoking anxiously on the other side of the field, several cigarette stubs around on the ground around his hooves. "What is going on?" Celestia shouted furiously, and everyone went dead silent: it was loud enough that several demons peered curiously up over the walls that surrounded the wide, open cement field. Antares winced and shrank down as Avalon fell out of the air and turned beet-red, while Meadowlark turned away and rubbed violently at her face. Rustproof's cigarette fell out of his muzzle, and Aphrodisia's eyes slowly widened as she dropped heavily on her butt and shivered. Celestia strode forwards, her eyes narrowed dangerously, her features tense: her golden armor almost glowed with her anger as her mane sparked with electricity before she closed her eyes and held up a hoof when Antares opened his mouth, saying sharply: "No. I don't want to hear it. I have had enough of this. Line formation in front of me, now." She looked up, saw the young ponies all staring at her, then she leaned forwards and ordered coldly: "I said now." That got the six ponies to hurry forwards, Rustproof stumbling and dropping his cigarettes all over, but not stopping to try and grab them up as they all sat at sharp attention in front of Celestia. She looked slowly back and forth over them, and then her eyes turned towards the side of the area, where tables had been set up... and her disgust and anger deepened at the sight of their equipment. It was laying willy-nilly all around the table, a few bits of gear here and there, one of Antares' vambraces half-polished... but the polish canister had been knocked over and left out, and the goo inside had dried all over the table and some of the other equipment in a hard, thick crust. Slowly, she forced herself to breathe, then she looked forwards and shook her head grimly. "Perhaps my original expectations were high. Perhaps I do not know foals as well as I thought and perhaps I treated all of you as special and different for too long, and gave you too much leniency. But no more. Your parents would be disappointed in all of you... we've put in at least ten hours every day this week into team exercises, and you six friends have not learned to get along. Instead, you've all become so convinced of your own superiority or inferiority that you've devolved into a pack of animals. Except packs of animals at least have a hierarchy and order." "Meadowlark started it, she-" Avalon was cut off by Celestia stomping a hoof hard enough to shatter the stone beneath her, and the tiny Pegasus quailed, hurriedly dropping her eyes to the ground. "We are going to train now." Celestia said slowly, her gaze icy, drawing slowly back and forth over them. "Since every other method has failed, I'll teach you teamwork the same way I taught it in the old days. I will be your opponent, and you six will attack me. The training exercise will not end until I am satisfied. Is this clear?" The six shared worried looks before Antares slowly began to turn towards the table, and Celestia said quietly as she stomped her hoof again to get his attention: "I did not give you permission to move, Antares Mīrus. Where do you think you're going?" "I... Aunt Tia... I was just going to get our equipment and..." Antares broke off, shaking like a leaf as he looked up and saw the fury and the disappointment in Celestia's eyes. "Aunt... Aunt Tia..." "Enough. You will refer to me as Celestia, and you will speak to me with respect." Celestia said sharply, and Antares wilted before the ivory winged unicorn straightened and said quietly: "And none of you deserve that equipment. You will fight me as you are." Celestia's eyes looked coldly back and forth: her heart hurt, but at the same time, her mind had already locked on this course of action, and she would see it through no matter how much it pained her. Since they refused to learn any other way, she would teach them that there were consequences for their actions, for their failures... for the way they, six friends, were attacking each other and making a mockery of everything they had learned. Maybe they had all become strong... but that very same strength had made them all weak, as well. "I'm... I'm not a fighter..." Meadowlark whispered, looking up pleadingly as tears fell from her eyes. "And I... I can't... help..." "Be silent. I did not give you permission to speak. If you wish to speak you will raise your hoof like the children you are and wait for me to address you." Celestia's voice was soft but dangerous, and then she gave a thin smile when Antares looked up and she saw the flash of anger, as Meadowlark's lower lip trembled. She didn't say anything, only looked at him... and Antares dropped his eyes, trembling himself. The ivory winged unicorn shook her head slowly, electricity sparking through her mane again before she stepped calmly backwards and looked coldly over the group. "All of you are supposed to play a role in the team. Antares is your leader. Prestige provides magic artillery. Aphrodisia is your heavy hitter. Avalon is vanguard. Rustproof is range and technology. Meadowlark is planning and medicine. All of you have a role on the battlefield and none of you understand what your role is. But you will. This exercise does not stop until you understand or you can no longer stand." Celestia turned and strode slowly away, then she lowered her head and said coldly: "Let us begin. Attack me, now, and do not disappoint me like you've disappointed me every day his week." "I don't care that you're the Baroness, you can't talk to us like that!" Avalon shouted furiously, her eyes filled with tears, and then she launched into the air and shot forwards... only for one of Celestia's rear hooves to smash into her chest and knock her shooting across the field. She hit the ground hard, rolling several times as the others looked in shock before the young Pegasus fell in a slump, shivering and coughing weakly. She clutched at herself, trembling violently as tears ran from her eyes, before slowly forcing herself to her hooves as Celestia turned around and said quietly: "This is not a game, Avalon, and you are not the strongest warrior on the field. I hope I have made that clear. You all desire to be treated as adults, to participate in a real war, on a real battlefield? None of you have any idea what that means. Especially not you, Antares." Antares trembled and shrank back, and Prestige gritted her teeth before she looked at him almost desperately. Then, on his other side, Aphrodisia roared before running forwards, and Prestige stumbled after the demon, not even knowing why even as her horn began to glow... Aphrodisia lunged at Celestia... and was crushed out of the air by a simple swipe of a front hoof, her head smashing painfully into the stone ground before Celestia's horn glowed gold. Her eyes remained calm and emotionless as golden arcs of lightning blasted over the demon's body, Aphrodisia shrieking in pain as she wriggled helplessly beneath the pin and agony rapidly stole her will to fight. Prestige flicked her horn, launching a blazing red fireball at Celestia... and the ivory equine's eyes flicked to the side before she rose her other hoof and simply slapped it away. Prestige could only keep running forwards, pumping all her strength into a second spell as she snapped her horn forwards, and a blast of force fired like a cannonball towards the winged unicorn. And without missing a beat, Celestia simply scooped Aphrodisia into the air in front of her, and the blast of force smashed into the demon, knocking her limply backwards... only for Celestia to slam a vicious punch into her back and send the demon shooting through the air like a rocket, crashing into Prestige's head and knocking them both rolling backwards with screams of pain. Celestia's expression was neutral, unchanging, even as Avalon shot forwards and Rustproof desperately ran for the equipment table. "I said you didn't earn that privilege." Celestia said quietly, flicking her horn to the side... and spikes of stone erupted from the ground all around Rustproof, one jagged blade of rock ripping a gash in his side and knocking him sprawling before the young male curled up, rasping hard for breath in terror as he was caged in by the jutting blades of earth. At almost the same time, without bothering to look, Celestia simply slapped Avalon to the side, knocking the Pegasus out of the air. The tiny female crashed face-first into the ground with a cry of agony, bouncing and rolling several times before she came to a halt, and Celestia shook her head slowly before turning her eyes coldly towards Antares and Meadowlark. Meadowlark backed slowly up, breathing hard in fear as Celestia calmly approached, the red Pegasus staring weakly up at her as Antares simply shivered violently, his jaw hanging open, tears in his eyes... and then he cried out weakly when Celestia shoved a hoof into Meadowlark's chest and stepped forwards to slam her cruelly down onto her back. The Pegasus bounced once with a cry of agony, spittle flying from her jaws before she whimpered, rasping for breath as Celestia leaned slowly down and said quietly: "Do you think your enemies will have any mercy for you, just because you're crying? No. They won't. They'll have less mercy than me." Meadowlark only trembled, shivering beneath her hoof before Celestia rose up and calmly strode over to Antares, who was laying on the ground on his stomach, shivering as tears leaked down his cheeks. He stared up at her, and Celestia looked down at him, then she ordered quietly: "Stand up." Antares shivered, then he slowly hauled himself up to his hooves... and a hoof smashed across his face, knocking him crashing onto his side. He clenched his eyes shut, face throbbing, body trembling before he slowly looked up as a weak sob escaped his jaws to see Celestia looming over him again, before she repeated coldly: "Stand up." Antares trembled... and Celestia reached down, seizing him by the mane and hauling him to his hooves before she slammed a hoof once, twice into his chest. He gagged, leaning forwards, limbs going weak beneath him as his vision blurred, and he tried to mouth something before Celestia simply dropped him and shook her head slowly. "Your parents would be disappointed in you. In everyone here. Get up, Antares. Get up, and fight. Show me that you know this is not a game." Antares only trembled... and then he slowly curled up and began to cry like a child, trying to hide his face in his hooves as his entire body shuddered with his sobs. His friends all lay beaten and bloody, petrified and wounded, and Celestia shook her head slowly and closed her eyes, feeling pity... but also disgust, anger, and even contempt. She didn't speak as she turned away, slowly making her way to the exit and leaving the six sprawled out and shivering in their various states of denial and suffering. She left them behind, and Antares sobbed all the harder, the pain, the self-loathing biting deeper and more savagely when he realized that she was gone... that Celestia hadn't just lost faith in him, she had decided they weren't worthwhile enough to even waste her time punishing them... that he had failed in her eyes, because he couldn't lead, he and his friends had turned against each other, and they weren't proud warriors... they were stupid, selfish children who still hadn't processed how the real world worked... A pair of limbs wrapped around him, and Antares yelled and tried to shove at the pony that had embraced him, but it only clung tighter before a wet face buried into the side of his neck. And in response, he grabbed wildly at the shape, and before he knew it, he was hugging her back, and they cried together before he felt more ponies coming over, turning into one fierce embrace shared by six ponies. When Antares' tears finally slowed and he managed to get a bit of control, he saw all his friends sitting around him. He breathed hard in and out, seeing the pain, the tears in their eyes, and then Avalon trembled before she said weakly: "I'm sorry. All of you guys, I'm sorry, I... I'm stupid. I got so much pride but I know I need to stop. I need to listen and... Antares, I'm gonna listen..." "I won't be scared... I... we need to work together, I don't... I don't want to be like my parents, I don't want to run away anymore..." Meadowlark whispered... and Antares realized that she had been the one to first embrace him. That she was still clinging to him, even as Prestige rested her head on Antares' other shoulder, trembling. "Aunt Tia's never been so mad at us, so disappointed..." Aphrodisia looked up, trembling, before she half-lunged forwards and hugged Antares fiercely, burying her face against his chest as she whispered: "I wish she had hit us more if it would have made her less disappointed in us, Nova. And I'm sorry. You're my best friend. You're my best friend, I should've listened all those times..." Rustproof only snuffled a little as he dropped his head forwards, and then he closed his eyes and dropped his head against Meadowlark's shoulder when she reached up and wrapped her other foreleg around him silently. He breathed hard in and out, and Prestige whispered: "Antares, you're our leader. I don't call you hero just because it's cute and... and... I've never felt more proud than when I was working with you and your friends. And I've never been more disgusted with myself than now... we didn't work together, and..." She laughed brokenly, and then Avalon looked over at her and said quietly: "You're our friend too, Prestige. And Meadowlark, you are too and... I'm sorry." Both Prestige and Meadowlark nodded silently, and then Antares closed his eyes before he whispered: "Then we need to work together. Forget... everything else, we need to work together... I'm sorry I couldn't bring us together before but... I... I... I'll find... I swear I'll find a way to make this work..." "You already bring us together. We just... need to listen. Antares, believe in yourself... you're..." Aphrodisia broke off, bowing her head and trembling a little as she held onto him. "You're the big brother." Antares laughed weakly, but he nodded slowly as he reached down and stroked his cousin's mane back before closing his eyes. "Okay. I'll... I'll try. Then..." He looked up, silently turning his eyes towards the table of littered equipment, and shame flushed his features as he saw the carelessness, the contempt... the fact he had treated the prized vambraces given to him by Twilight sitting in waste like they were garbage. "Then first... we need to earn our equipment back. We need to start at the basics." The others nodded, hesitantly pulling apart... but the group was humbled, working in silence with each other. It was small thing, but important and necessary, as they cleaned up, then gathered their equipment, polished it, touched it up as best they could. Ponies passed their equipment over to Antares, who cleaned out the dings as best he could, while Meadowlark and Rustproof polished gear and ensured everything was clean and in working order. Avalon and Aphrodisia worked alongside Prestige to go over the rest of their equipment while this was being done, organizing everything and also working on figuring out how they could all work effectively in combat. What it came down to, was that they would have to listen... but Antares would also have to give orders. He didn't like the idea, but he saw the necessity for it in their eyes, and felt their faith in him... and that gave him strength. Not confidence, but he was willing to try, if only to avoid disappointing his friends and save them from receiving another beating... or much worse. Celestia was right, after all: in a real battle, they would have been destroyed. Celestia had hurt them, but she could have done worse, and Antares knew that... and what hurt a lot more than her hooves was the feeling of failure. Was her words... the pain of her hooves faded quickly, but the pain of what she had said, the thought of his parents being disappointed in him... Twilight Sparkle came looking for them when Meadowlark didn't show up for work at the archives... and while at first she smiled at the sight of them working together, she then saw the signs of battle, the bruises, the splatters of blood. She ran in, but Antares only shook his head sharply to the others... and to his surprise, they all immediately dropped their heads forwards and let him slowly tell her what had happened, and not even Avalon had spoken out. He had simply said that they had been taught a lesson. It wasn't a lie, even if it wasn't entirely the truth, and he thought Twilight had some idea of what had likely gone on, but she had only left in silence afterwards. Antares put his mind back to the task at hoof, helping finish organization and equipment preparation before saying quietly: "Every day, we meet here. No other training, we're going to come here, we're going to learn to work with each other, no matter what. Allonym is right: it doesn't matter how strong we are apart if we can't work as a team. And we're going to start today." The others had agreed: and the more they listened, the more confident Antares became in giving orders. Now that they were working together instead of trying to outdo each other, focus only on themselves and their training, or simply butt heads of the sake of butting heads, they were beginning to understand how they could all play separate roles but still work together as a team. It was an important start, and they were dedicated to it: dedication that showed when they returned to Thorn Palace late at night simply to go to bed, and the next morning headed as a group back to the training area, all anxious to work as much as possible. It made them all the more surprised when they found another table set up in the center of the arena, with food set silently out, inviting them to breakfast. Someone had also left them a book of exercises and battle strategies, and Antares silently touched this, not eating as the others did; instead, he was looking quietly out towards the entrance to the training grounds, wondering if the glimmer of a glowing mane he'd seen was real or just his hopes and imagination playing tricks on him. Category:Transcript Category:Story